These soft, chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make in one bowl and are so delicious! With added pumpkin for a bonus punch of goodness, these cookies are naturally gluten free, egg-free and dairy-free.

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A tray of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies cooling on a table covered with white cloth

Why these vegan peanut butter cookies?

I do my best work when I am required to be creative due to lack of ingredients. And these Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin) are a prime example of that fact.

I like to play a game with myself called “lets see how long you can feed your family without having to go to grocery store.” It forces me to think outside the box instead of relying on staples or getting stuck in a rut of eating the same thing every week. It also helps to keep our food budget under wraps

Well, it was during one of those games that these cookies were born. I was actually planning to make my favorite Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies when I realized I was out of most of the ingredients….especially the eggs. So, instead of scrapping the cookie plan, I got creative and these Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies were born.

How-to chart of how to make vegan peanut butter cookies with pumpkin made with four separate images and numbered respectively

And its a good thing, as y’all are always asking me for my egg-free recipes. And these Vegan Peanut Butter cookies are the bee’s knees. They are silly easy to whip up when a cookie craving strikes and made from some pretty simple ingredients.

They are soft, slightly chewy and so stinking yummy. I added some chocolate chipped into the mix because chocolate chips kinda make everything better in my book… but you can leave them out if that’s your preference.

What is “natural peanut butter?”

“Natural” is a word that is thrown around a lot these days and doesn’t have any true regulation on it. So, pretty much anyone can claim that their product is “natural”, without it being anywhere close to it.

Real natural peanut butter should only have one or maybe two ingredients. Peanuts and maybe salt. No artificial sweeteners, colors, preservatives or ingredients that you need Google to help you to define.

Some nut butter companies add cane sugar, honey or maple syrup to their PB to sweeten them up. And that is not a terrible thing as long as you know that there is sugar hanging out in your nut butter and you can adjust a recipe or your usage appropriately.

Some of my favorite natural peanut butters are the Trader Joe’s and Costco brands. I know there are many others out there, but I love how affordable and accessible these two are.

A big tower of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies straight out of the oven. The tower consists of 7 cookies looking extra delicious.

Why does natural peanut butter have oil on top?

Another sign of a natural peanut butter is a layer of oil hanging out on top of your nut butter when you open a fresh jar. This is total normal.

Nuts have a natural oil to them. That oil is supposed to be there. And when peanut butter without a bunch on gunk in it hangs out on a shelf, the nut butter and its oil naturally separate.

You can easily reincorporate back into the nut butter with a quick and through stir upon opening. I also have found storing an unopened jar upside down in the pantry helps mixing the oil but into the peanut butter much easier.

Suggested Adaptations for Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

  • Make these Paleo. Sub the peanut butter for almond butter and you have a veggie-loaded Paleo treat! Just a heads up, almond butter tends to be a bit thinner than PB, so the cookies might be on the softer side.
  • Sub the pumpkin for mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash puree. I find that these can often be used interchangeably in many recipes!
  • Skip the chocolate. Leave the chocolate chips out for a low sugar cookie that is kind of perfect for breakfast!
  • Sub the chocolate chips for raisins.

Other egg-free recipes you are going to love….

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Dipping one of the Vegan Peanut Butter cookies into a big glass of milk with one bite already missing.
A tray of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies cooling on a table covered with white cloth
4.43 from 7 votes

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)

Yield: 18 cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
These soft, chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make in one bowl and so delicious! With added pumpkin for a bonus punch of goodness, these cookies are naturally gluten free, egg-free and dairy-free.

Ingredients
 

  • 3/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar, or granulated sweetener of choice
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt, skip if peanut butter is salted
  • 3 tbsp ground flax meal
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips*

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
  • Fold in chocolate chips
  • Using a heaping tablespoon or cookie scoop, portion out the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave room in between the cookies. Use the back of a fork to gently flatten each cookies.
  • Bake in two separate batches for 10 minutes each.
  • Removed from oven and cool on baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Cookies will firm up as they cool.
  • Once cooled, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Chocolate chips often contain dairy. Be sure you use a dairy-free brand if that is important.
  • Make these Paleo. Sub the peanut butter for almond butter and you have a veggie-loaded Paleo treat! Just a heads up, almond butter tends to be a bit thinner than PB, so the cookies might be on the softer side.
  • Sub the pumpkin for mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash puree. I find that these can often be used interchangeably in many recipes!
  • Skip the chocolate. Leave the chocolate chips out for a low sugar cookie that is kind of perfect for breakfast!
  • Sub the chocolate chips for raisins.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 91.24kcal, Carbohydrates: 9.72g, Protein: 3.24g, Fat: 4.95g, Saturated Fat: 1.16g, Cholesterol: 0.5mg, Sodium: 99.34mg, Potassium: 117.87mg, Fiber: 1.16g, Sugar: 5.26g, Vitamin A: 1066.62IU, Vitamin C: 0.29mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 0.44mg